Saturday two weeks ago, I was at the range trying out my brand-new 1947 vintage No. 5 Enfield.  I was shooting from a bench on one of the range's crappy little stools.  All was wonderful.  But when I stood up, I had a pain in my right leg, near the knee.  It irritated me the following week, and over the next weekend.  At first, I thought it was a gout attack (I always get those in my toe or ankle, though) but my gout medication (indomethicin) didn't seem to have any effect.  Excedrin helped a bit, but I don't like to take too much of it.  

I do a lot of sitting behind a desk or a steering wheel, and it seemed that when I sat for extended periods the ache would be worse, but if I walked around a little, it would ease up. The second week, it started off better, but it would never quite go away.  Sometimes bad enough to make me walk like Walter Brennan, sometimes just a mild limp.

Last Thursday, though, it hit me really bad.  I was on my feet most of the day.  About 10AM I almost couldn't put weight on the leg for a few minutes, then, not 10 minutes later, I was (mostly) OK again.  Thursday night I took three extra-strength Excedrin so I could go to sleep.  

Friday morning, no pain at all. I walked like a regular human being.  It's been niggling at me off and on since then.  Not bad enough to make me limp, but it hasn't left yet.

I suspect that I've got a blood clot in my leg.  I get a weird feeling in my lower leg of warmth almost flowing down it (no incontinence jokes, OK?) that occasionally comes and goes.  No numbness anywhere, though and no swelling.  My leg is slightly tender just on the inside of my leg immediately below the knee joint where it's been since this started.  No bruises or anything like that.

Two weeks of this is beginning to piss me off.  Any clues?

I'm not a medic or doc, but I would think a pinched nerve. just my .02




Pinched Nerve  

Any pressure applied to a nerve by the surrounding tissue will produce irritation and will disrupt the nerve's functioning, with consequences that can range from aches and pains to a loss of feeling or weakening of muscles. The pinching can occur for many reasons — pregnancy, an injury, repetitive motions or joint disease, to name just a few. It may also occur anywhere in the peripheral nervous system (that is, nerves outside the brain and spine). Nerves passing over a rigid prominence, such as a bone, are particularly vulnerable.

The most typical pinched nerves are the median, ulnar and radial nerves, which extend down the arms from the shoulders to the hands. Other commonly compressed nerves include the femoral, which extends from the pelvis to the knee; the plantar nerves in your feet; nerves between discs in your spinal column; the peroneal nerve running along the side of your leg; and the sciatic nerve, a large nerve that runs the length of each leg from the base of your spine to your foot.

With treatment, a pinched nerve generally heals in a few days to a few weeks. Chronic cases can result from persistent irritation of the affected nerve. In some cases, damage to the nerve can become permanent.



[red]Symptoms

Tenderness, tingling or numbness in one part of your body, often a limb.
Prickly, burning or stabbing pain where a nerve is being irritated, with a dull ache farther along the nerve's length.
Weakness in the affected area; atrophy of muscles because of disuse, so that one arm or leg may look thinner than the other. [/red]

The vertebrae are separated from one another by fibrous pads, or disks. The outer layer of the disc is strong and flexible, encasing a soft, jellylike core. When the outer layer is weakened by strain or injury, the condition known as a herniated disc, the inner core can bulge out and press against, or pinch, one of the spinal nerves, resulting in severe pain.

Causes

Pressure on a peripheral nerve from the surrounding tissue causes inflammation of the nerve. Such pressure can be the result of injury or disease. Sometimes the source of the problem is constant repetition of arm or leg movements, common with keyboard operations and assembly-line jobs. Also, some people are genetically more susceptible to nerve injury caused by pressure.

Another common cause of nerve irritation is a damaged spinal disc — the cushioning between vertebrae. If a disc becomes injured or degenerates, it can tear, allowing the soft jelly-like center to bulge out and press on an adjacent nerve. This condition — popularly known as a slipped disc — tends to occur in the parts of the spine that are the most mobile: the lower back (lumbar spine) and neck (cervical spine). Heavy lifting, obesity and contact sports can contribute to the problem.

Diagnostic and Test Procedures

Your doctor may test your strength, sensation and reflexes and look for problems of restricted movement. An EMG test may be performed to determine the nerve conduction speed in your arms and legs.

Conventional Medicine
Your doctor may advise adjustment or cessation of an activity that is causing pressure on a nerve and may suggest wearing a splint, brace or some other support. Physical therapy can strengthen surrounding muscles. Anti-inflammatory drugs or a short course of corticosteroids can promote healing. Small doses of amitriptyline or another tricyclic antidepressant, sometimes prescribed for pain, may help if your case is chronic.

Prevention

Try to avoid tasks that involve repetitive hand, wrist, arm or shoulder motions. When avoidance is impossible, perform the motions for short periods of time with breaks in between. If symptoms begin to appear, consult a physical therapist to learn about possible modifications in the task or the equipment.

Call Your Doctor If:


The pain persists for several days and does not respond to over-the-counter analgesics; your doctor may prescribe anti-inflammatory drugs or physical therapy.
The pain is so great that you are unable to move without severe discomfort; your doctor may want to perform tests in order to rule out other ailments.
You develop weakness, numbness or loss of muscle bulk.
You note a change in your bowel and/or bladder function.

This is off the WebMD site. Hope it helps.

I'm not an internist but, I think you got some bleeding going on.

Sparsky:

Thanks.  I hadn't considered a pinched nerve, but I always thought those were accompanied by pain [i]during movement[/i].  Hell, you could be right, but it just doesn't strike me that way.Nope, don't think so.  If I had bleeding, I'd have edema and bruising.  Thanks, though.

Kbaker--

E-mail at you.

hx of diabetes,arthritis,spinal injury,broken leg?How many guns do you own?[:D]

how old are you? 20-30, 30-40, 40- 50?

If the excedrin is working, it could be a circulatory, and or an inflammed tendon.

Oh, see a Dr.[:D]

I am not a Dr, nor do I play one on the internet.

Sciatica (pinched nerve) is my experenced guess.

Jay

If you're really concerned, then go see your doctor.

Where can I get some of that?

I go to the doctor only when I think I'm going to die, but afraid I won't.[:D]  Like, when I had food poisoning and got severely dehydrated.

It's better now that it has been, but it's [i]irritating[/i], and it's hung on for two freaking weeks.  

Hell, you may be onto something there!

I'll play Doctor....Take some asprin[85 cents for 500 of um] (anti-inflamitory and anti-coagulant so your blood won't clot) 45 bucks pay the lady out front and make a follow up appointment. If it's not better next week come back in so I can fu(k ya somemore!

E-Mail back.

I tend to be quite conservative.
My point is that submitting a question like this to a forum like this is inappropriate.

Do you [i]really[/i] think that a physician has enough information, based upon your post, to make a diagnosis?  Do you [i]really[/i] think that a doctor is going to advise you here?

Yes, there can be all sorts of speculation from ambulance drivers, but is that really what you want?  Are you really interested in the cause?  Which of the conflicting opinions will you choose?  
I'm not going to tell not to accept any of these armchair opinions, but I'd like you to ask yourself why you are willing to accept any of them.  If you do decide to make an appointment, then maybe you'll want to bring a printout of this topic with you?

Think, man!  This is [b]AR15.com[/b].

It takes no training, no credentials, no experience, to remind you that [i]you are going to die[/i].

I get the same thing in my right thigh from time to time.

Mine comes from a bad SI joint and tilt in my right hip (pinches a nerve) I try and catch it before it blows out all the way. Hurts a lot less.

[i]sigh[/i]

I have the same exact thing and I just went to the Doc yesterday...

Diagnosis: Sciatica (do a search on my name as a Topic Author and there was a whole thread on it...AMAZING on how many here have it)

Matter of fact I got A LOT of good advice from the guys here.

Do you think it could be something as simple as a pulled muscle?  Since you were sitting on a "crappy little stool" when you were putting a sharp and sudden twisting stress on yourself, it might be.  Have you had a day or two to relax since this happened?  If I was you, I'd just try to stay off of my feet for a day or two.  Between work, working-out, and trying to maintain a 3 acre yard, I'm always pulling something.  The pain seems to vary, but it always gets better if I get a chance to relax.z

IMHO: Lately, you have been developing quite a rep for elitism. You essentially attacked the ammo FAQ, and now you attack the ability of us mere arf.comers to give good advice about knee pain. Why this obsession with PhDs? What exactly is your academic background to where we should hold your opinion over anyone else's? Heck, you won't even put your real name in your profile!

Any one still remember anything from their Combat Life Saver Course?

Besides, to only apply a neck tourniquet to a$$H@1E's.[:D]

Maybe it's a tumor.

I get these kinds of pains in feet, ankles, and knees.  Not quite as bad since I now work out a lot and have strengthened some muscles.  Naprocen (sp?) which is basically stronger Alleve will probably help.  

GunLvr

Just tring to help out KBaker. But I'd still get it looked at if it's bad enough where you can't walk. just my .02

IMHO is just a mad keyboard operator, he clicks those little keys to remind us he is better than the "ambulance drivers".

Ambulance drivers went out in the 70s!! Where you been??

There are Paramedics out there much better than MDs. Some MDs just don't see the things guys in the field do. If you are not in the ER, weather it be an EMT-P or MD, RN etc, you aren't gonna be as good as someone on the psych ward. Of course we'll all psycho here so the again....

IMHO (the poster), if he wants a internet diagnosis so be it. Just take a chill...